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The Purpose of Worship - Kaitlyn Terry

 St. Augustine makes it perfectly clear that the purpose of worship is not to sing, though many Christians get caught up in that. The purpose of worship is to learn and praise, the music is simply a vessel. Oftentimes Christians seem to get caught up in the performance of worship, not the benefits of the words being sung. Worship, specifically the Psalms, is said to be an "Arbitrator of souls, restraining the disorder and turbulence of thoughts.. it softens the passion of the soul and moderates its unruliness" (St. Basil par 2). 

Worship is meant to provoke thought and peace, it is not meant to be performative. While worship is meant to provoke thought, it is not, however, meant to be glorified and it is not meant to be a source of theology. Worship and the accompanying music is a vessel for God's word and love, not vice versa. Music was, and still is an essential medium of worship, but it is not everything. Music is a means of communicating worship, and it should not take the focus off of what is being sung.

(I commented on Brooke and Leanne's posts)

Comments

  1. Haylee LyndJanuary 25, 2021 at 8:14 PM

    I 100% agree with this. Especially today, with modern tech- lights and speakers and screens- it's easy to forget that the performance and the visuals don't matter, and I'm saying this as a techie. It doesn't matter at all in comparison to Jesus. I know worship leaders and tech team members of the church get caught up in worrying about what the congregation might think of the visuals and the lights. I know its's exciting and tempting to focus on those things. They're not bad things. If used correctly, they can bring more power to the worship and direct even more attention to God and to the cross, but the substance is in the words.

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